Finally...My Bright Idea

Really cool Spanish teachers just don’t exist.

My goal in life is not to be “cool”.  I was never, ever in my life considered “cool”, and I’m ok with that.  Being cool has its downfalls – always having to look, act, and just BE perfect is not my style.  I have faults.  I have flaws.  I have quirks.

I’m just like any normal human being.  Normal people aren’t cool.

My Spanish teacher in high school, Mr. Walendziewicz (pronounced “wall-in-JEV-ich”) was not what I would consider to be “cool”.  He was, by far, my favorite teacher ever, and he is the reason that I became a Spanish teacher – but he wasn’t “cool”.  He worked hard, loved what he did, and did not put up with stupid crap.

If I had to describe him in one word at that time, I would have chosen “odd”.

Now, I would describe him as “passionate”. 

Have you ever heard the phrase, “if you love what you do, you’ll never work a day in your life”?  It’s one of my favorite mantras.  Mr. Walendziewicz definitely was a perfect example of this.

I do love teaching Spanish.  Not teaching Spanish for a year unquestionably made me realize how much I love it.  I made the most of my time teaching ESL, so I didn’t think that I would miss it as much as I did.

Now that I will be teaching Spanish again, I am excited, as I usually am when a new school year approaches – but, I need something to keep the passion alive throughout the year.  Reading China Millman’s article in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, and visiting Smoke as a result of reading that article sparked a bright idea to help keep the fire burning, and I cannot wait to see how it takes off.

Here is the basic concept:

My goal is to allow my students to explore the different Hispanic/Latino restaurants that exist right here in the Pittsburgh area.  However, this will be difficult, given that the district’s budget is EXTREMELY tight this year.  Students and parents will have to pay more out-of-pocket expenses for supplies, equipment, etc., so spending money for school-sponsored field trips will most likely be low on the priority list.

As part of my Spanish 1 and 2 classes, my students will have the opportunity to earn extra credit.  This will be the ONLY way that they will be able to earn extra credit, as extra credit is defined as “going above and beyond the regular classroom expectations.”  Of course, my students are expected to learn the material as defined by the curriculum, to do their homework, to study, etc.

My students will be able to earn extra credit by visiting the “authentic” Hispanic/Latino restaurants, ordering an “authentic” food item, and bringing me proof.  “Authentic” meaning NOT Taco Bell, Qdoba, Chipotle, Don Pablo’s, etc.  and ordering a Chalupa, or ground beef taco, or chimichanga.  It means trying something new, something that may not be on a chain restaurant’s menu, like fried plantains, or mole, or chicken prepared Peruvian-style.

I have been working diligently this summer to contact restaurants about their authentic menu items.  Several have been very receptive to the idea, and I thank Ibiza Tapas Restaurant on the South Side, Las Velas in Market Square, and Chicken Latino in the Strip District for being so quick to respond to my letter or email, detailing my plan.  I hope to hear back from others in the coming weeks.  In the meantime, I have been compiling a list of restaurants and their locations for my students to refer to in the event that they chose to explore these establishments.

How will my students get to these places?   Some of my students drive, but most are not old enough to do so.  Hopefully, their parents, family, and friends will be supportive and offer to go with them (there will be incentive for this, too).  Also, public transportation is an option, or perhaps carpooling with friends who do drive.  This is the “above and beyond” part of the extra credit – it needs to be earned, not handed out like any other homework assignment. 

Essentially, I will be advertising for these restaurants like crazy this school year.  I am planning on visiting these restaurants myself, if I haven’t already (but I have no problem going back to them, either!)  I will write a review of my experience so that my students know what to expect.  Those reviews will be part of this blog, just like my review of Smoke in the last post.

In the spring, I want to expand this knowledge into the community and surrounding communities with a Latin American festival, of sorts, as a fundraiser for a trip to Spain that I am planning for my students who are interested in traveling.  I hope that these restaurants and other community groups will want to be a part of this celebration of Latin American culture.

So that’s my idea, in summary.  I will have more details for my students at the beginning of the school year, and in the meantime, I will post reviews of the restaurants that I have visited so far.

Follow me on Twitter: @senoritacibulka

See you August 29^th, kids.

Where There's Smoke, There's an Epiphany

How often have you come to love something, only for it to suddenly not be around anymore? 

This has happened to everyone at some point, whether it be as simple as losing your favorite toy, or as heartbreaking as the loss of a loved one.

Too often, also, have businesses closed suddenly, especially with the unstable state of the economy.

During my visit to Smoke in Homestead, I was blown away by how delicious the food was; however, I was overcome with the feeling of “I hope this place actually stays open”.

Smoke is located on 8^th Ave., two blocks up from The Waterfront, which is bustling with chain restaurants such as Eat ‘N Park, PF Chang’s, TGI Friday’s, and UNO.  Personally, I know that if I’m looking to go out to eat, that is the first place that I think to go.  Given the history of 8^th Ave., I would never think to eat at an establishment on that road.  Parking is mostly metered and on-street, and my parallel parking skills are…well, almost non-existent, given that I didn’t even have to parallel park for my driving test back in the day.

After reading China Millman’s Post-Gazette article, however, I had to try the place out.  I had passed it so many times, and I was feeling especially adventurous on the morning of June 24, 2011.

After an unsuccessful fishing trip to Duck Hollow that morning, where I lost 4 hooks within an hour due to the incredible amount of branches and debris in the Monongahela River (and a complete lack of fishing skills), I needed a pick-me-up.  I went to Old Navy and bought some clothes, and on the way home, I decided to stop at Smoke.

I was afraid that they would not be open yet, since it was only 10:50 in the morning, but upon my first trip around the block of 8^th Ave., Ann St., 7^th Ave., and Amity St., I saw that the door was wide open and a large “OPEN” sign was in the window.  On my second lap, I parked in a very wide-open metered space (not many parallel parking skills required).

I was overcome by the smoky smell inside the restaurant – it reminded me of the smoky corn tortilla smells in Mexico.  The woman working inside was very friendly and offered me a paper menu from the counter.  I perused it carefully – the first side was entirely breakfast, and the other was tacos and sides.  I was also elated to see that they make their own tortillas and use all-natural ingredients.  After careful deliberation, I settled on the veggie taco, brisket taco, and an agua fresca, which that day was watermelon and mango flavored.

I had a seat at a patio table to wait for my food.  Two older gentlemen were sitting at the other table (not a lot of seating here) and acknowledged me with a nod and a “hello”.  I said hello back and occupied my time with my iPhone, sipping my delicious agua fresca and telling myself, “Slow down, or you’ll have nothing to drink with your tacos.”  It was so tasty, though, that I could have had it gone instantaneously.

My tacos came out wrapped in foil, and I opened both immediately.  I tried the veggie taco first and loved the flavor, mostly because of the cilantro – I love cilantro, and anything with cilantro in it, I will devour.  The brisket taco was also delicious, but I preferred the veggie taco, mainly because of the cilantro flavor. 

After an intelligent conversation with one of the older gentlemen about the tenderness of the brisket and asking the woman at the counter if they take call-in orders (they do!), I left the restaurant with a smile on my face – and the thought of, “I really, REALLY hope this place stays in business.”

My next thought – “What can I do to help keep this place stay in business?”

I had the idea of taking pictures of the menu and posting them on Facebook, ranting and raving about how delicious the place was – so I did.  I got lots of comments on the pictures, and I had no problem commenting back on how great the place was and how everyone needed to try it, in lieu of automatically thinking of places in The Waterfront for breakfast, lunch, or dinner.  Many of my friends said that they were going to try it, and some had even said that they already had, and loved it.

Then – after the wheels in my head turned, spun, and careened out of control some more – The Epiphany…